Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
Turkey's first President and the leader of
the Turkish War
of Independence

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the founder and
first President of the Republic of Turkey. He was a division commander during
the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915 and was instrumental in preventing the partition
of Anatolia and Eastern Thrace through his political and military leadership in
the Turkish War of Independence. The successful anti-imperialist resistance
drove out the various Allied occupying forces, and ultimately led to the
establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. Ataturk then instituted reforms
in the political, economic and cultural aspects of life in Turkey, which led to
the creation of a democratic secular nation-state guided by educational and
scientific progress.

Founding & History of the Turkish
Republic

Atatürk is internationally known as an
outstanding statesman, soldier, commander, reformer, and nation-builder who
introduced many reforms with the aim of founding a new secular democratic and
modern republic after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. As a visionary,
revolutionary figure, and political thinker, he strove to set Turkey on a path
from which Turks today vow not to stray (this path included a series of
political, legal, cultural, social and economic reforms, such as the
emancipation of women, change in dress and alphabet). Ataturk's
legacy and principles are deeply embedded in the Turkish national
consciousness, while the results of his reform and modernization movement are
firmly rooted in all realms and dimensions of life in Turkey.

The
Turkish people's enduring respect and gratitude for Ataturk's grasp of the future
needs of Turkey, along with his nobility of purpose, is demonstrated by the love
of nation and patriotism, and is a reason why his statues and photographs are so
widely displayed. Turks, regardless
of political party affiliation, desire to protect
the national ideals which are founded on Ataturk's legacy and principles.

* The founding principles of the Turkish
Republic are often referred to as "Kemalizm," "Atatürkçü Düşünce,"
or "Atatürkçülük" (in addition to "Atatürk İlkeleri ve
İnkılap Tarihi"). (Cumhuriyetin
Temel İlkeleri)

CHRONOLOGY

1881

Birth
of MustafaKemal
Ataturk to Ali Riza and Zübeyde at Salonika.

1883

German
military mission established in Ottoman Empire.

1893

Young
Mustafa
enters Military Secondary School at Salonika and is given the additional name of
Kemal.

1895

Mustafa
Kemal enters Military Training School at Monastir.

1896

Revolt
by students of Military Medical School in Istanbul suppressed.

1897

17
April. Ottoman-Greek war commences, following a Greek threat to annex Crete.
Peace settlement by intervention of the European Powers.

1898

State
visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II to Ottoman Empire.

1899

13
March. Mustafa Kemal enters War College in Istanbul.

1902

Mustafa
Kemal graduates as Lieutenant, General Staff College in Istanbul.

1905

11
January. Mustafa Kemal graduates
from the General Staff College with the rank of Staff Captain and is posted to
the Fifth Army, based in Damascus

Mustafa
Kemal attends Congress of Union and Progress Party in Salonika.

6
September. Mustafa Kemal appointed Commander of Third Army and later Commander
ofThirty-eighth
Infantry Regiment.

1910

Mustafa
Kemal serves as Chief of Staff in suppression of revolt in Albania.

Mustafa
Kemal sent to Paris with military missionto
attendFrench army manoeuvres.

1911

13
September. Mustafa Kemal is posted to the General Staff in Istanbul.

5
October. Italian invasion of Tripoli.

Mustafa
Kemal with Turkish Forces at Tobruk and Derna.

27
November. Mustafa Kemal promoted to Major.

1912

8
October - 3 December. Beginning of First Balkan War. Montenegro, Serbia,
Bulgaria and Greece at war with Ottoman Empire. Severe Turkish defeats. Salonika
falls to the Greeks. Mustafa Kemal leaves Cyrenaica and returns to Istanbul. Coup
d'etat against Government by Union and Progress officers.

16
July. Mustafa Kemal sends despatch to War Minister from Sofia, urging apolicy of Turkish neutrality in the event of
war, with a view to possiblelater
intervention against Bulgaria and the Central Powers.

28
July. Austria declares war on Serbia, with support of Germany.

2
August. Ottoman leadership signs secret alliance with Germany.

11
August. Ottomans purchase German warships Goeben
and Breslauon
arrival in the Bosporus.

28
October. Ottomans shells Russian Black Sea ports.

3
November. Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire.

5
November. Britain and France declare war on Ottoman Empire.

1915

2
February. Mustafa Kemal appointed to reorganize and command NineteenthDivision
in Thrace.

20
October. Treaty of Ankara between Nationalist Government and France.

1922

26
August - 9 September. Nationalist forces defeat Greeks in counter-offensive and
capture Izmir, which is destroyed by fire. Turks launch final offensive against
Greek forces in Anatolia; break through the following day; win decisive victory
on 30 August.

24
July.Treaty
of Lausanne signed in Switzerland by Turkey and the Entente powers that fought
in World War I. After the conclusion of the Turkish War of Independence, this
treaty recognized the Republic of Turkey as a sovereign nation.

April 30, 1919
Mustafa Kemal is appointed Inspector of the 9th Army based in Erzurum and is
granted extensive powers.

May 16, 1919
Mustafa Kemal leaves Istanbul for Samsun on the Bandırma vessel.

May 19, 1919
Mustafa Kemal lands in Samsun, a city located on the Black Sea.. This date marks
the beginning of the Turkish national liberation movement, and is an official
holiday dedicated to the youth of Turkey.

July 8, 1919
Mustafa Kemal resigns from his post of Inspector of the 3rd Army, and from the
army.

July 23, 1919
Mustafa Kemal is elected Chairman of the Erzurum Congress.

September 4, 1919
Mustafa Kemal is elected Chairman of the Sivas Congress.

December 27, 1919
Mustafa Kemal arrives in Ankara with the Excutive Committee.

April 23, 1920
Mustafa Kemal opens the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara.

May 11, 1920
Mustafa Kemal is condemned to death by the government in Istanbul.

August 5, 1921
Mustafa Kemal is appointed Commander-in-Chief by the Grand National Assembly.

August 23, 1921
The battle of Sakarya, led by Mustafa Kemal, begins.

September 19, 1921
The Grand National Assembly gives Mustafa Kemal the rank of Marshal and
the title Gazi (Victor).

August 26, 1922
Gazi Mustafa Kemal begins to lead the Great Offensive from the hill of
Kocatepe.

June 16, 1934
The Grand National Assembly passes a law granting Gazi Mustafa Kemal the
surname "Atatürk."

November 10, 1938
Atatürk died at five past nine in
the morning on November 10 in Dolmabahce Palace. Mourning Turkish citizens came
to Istanbul to pay their last respects to
Atatürk, until November 19, when the coffin in which his body rested, covered
by a Turkish flag, was taken in procession to Sarayburnu. After it was placed onto the battleship Yavuz,
it was transported to Izmit and later placed on a specially designated train which travelled at a slow speed
throughout the country to enable mourners to pay tribute to their leader. Once the coffin arrived in Ankara on November 20, an official funeral
was held on November 21. Dignitaries from many countries
attended Atatürks state funeral. The coffin was moved in a solemn procession by gun carriage from
the Grand National Assembly to the Ethnographic Museum, which had been selected
as a temporary resting place until a mausoleum for Atatürk could be constructed.

November 10, 1953
At five past nine on November 10,
1953, Atatürks remains were taken from the Ethnographic Museum in a Turkish
flag-draped coffin for burial at Anıtkabir.